Interstate 94 reopened after wreckage cleared from pile-up

Authorities investigate a multi-vehicle accident on I-94 east of State Road 49 near Chesterton, Ind. Three people died and at least 20 were injured. (Indiana State Police )

Interstate 94 was reopened this morning after cranes and tow trucks worked through the night to untangle a crush of more than 40 semis and cars that collided in near blizzard conditions near Michigan City, Ind., killing three people, including a 65-year-old man from Chicago.

As many as 20 people were injured, some airlifted to hospitals.

“It was such a devastating scene,’’ said Fire Chief Mick Pawlik with the Coolspring Volunteer Fire Department. “It’ll live with us forever.’’

Jerry Dalrymple, 65, of the 9000 block of South Bell Avenue in Chicago, was pronounced dead at the scene, apparently from blunt force trauma, the coroner's office said.

Dalrymple, who worked for the Federal Home Loan Bank in Chicago, had been on his way to check the family's summer home. His 7-year-old black Labrador "Sparky" was with him. "He loved walking Sparky along the lake," his oldest daughter Laura Kelly said.

Also killed were a husband and wife from Grand Rapids, Mich. The coroner's office identified them as Marilyn J. Wolma, 65, and Thomas D. Wolma, 67. They had been coming home from Wisconsin after caring for an ill relative, according to LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said.

“Lucky we didn’t have 10 more, you know, from looking at it?" the coroner said. "Thank God we didn’t have any more.”

The accident occurred around 2:20 p.m. Thursday east of State Road 49, about 60 miles from Chicago, as a burst of lake-effect snow cut visibility to about 10 feet, Indiana State Police said. Officials said there had been no plans to close that stretch of road because the white-out conditions developed suddenly.

"It went from sunshine to complete no visibility, so when they entered in, it turned into slide off, crash, crash," said Indiana Police Sgt. Ann Wojas.

Several vehicles spun out and the traffic behind them was unable to stop in time. In all, 46 vehicles, including 18 semis, were involved in the crash. Several cars were crushed between the trucks and some slid underneath them.

A witness told WGN-TV a line of brake lights suddenly appeared out of the snow.

His truck hit a semi and was then struck by at least three other vehicles, he said. "We had to climb out the back of our windows and the sunroof," he said.

Scott Collins, 17, of Chesterton, Ind., told reporters he was riding in a car with three other teens and saw the crash happen just behind them.

“One of the semis started sliding and I think it jackknifed in the middle of the road” and collided with another semi, he said. “After that happened, multiple semis locked up. . .We were pretty nervous.”

Troopers and firefighters scrambled in the dark and cold, searching for victims. Helicopters were called in to rush the most seriously injured to hospitals.

"It was like a war zone out there," said Pawlik. "I never want to see it again. . .There were people in cars you couldn't even see."

He said it took four hours to remove all the victims. It took three hours to remove one person, a man in his 40s who was trapped in a "pocket of vehicles," Pawlik said. The man was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

"It was brutal," Pawlik said. "You can train all day long, but until you get out there, it's totally different. . .You have the dead, those are the worst. You know they're there."

Dalrymple, one of those who died, had three daughters, a son and four grandchildren. He had been a band director at Luther North High School in the 1970s and then went into banking. But music continued to be his passion, according to his daughter. He had two master's degrees in music and would play at St. John Lutheran Church every Sunday, she said.

“My dad was the most compassionate and loving, free-spirited person you would ever want to meet,” Kelly said. “He was just an ordinary guy who loved life and loved his family and loved his dog. . .He’s going to be missed so terribly.”